Australians in Iran, Iraq directed local Jewish attacks

Tess Ikonomou |

Australians overseas masterminded Jewish attacks on home soil, national spy chief Mike Burgess says.
Australians overseas masterminded Jewish attacks on home soil, national spy chief Mike Burgess says.

Australians living overseas masterminded firebombings of a Jewish deli in Sydney and a synagogue in Melbourne, Australia’s spy chief has revealed.

Spies found direct links between Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp and two people living offshore who directed the two attacks against Jewish Australians, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said.

An Australian in Iran is a senior agent of the IRGC’s Quds force, which cultivates and supports terrorist groups abroad, Mr Burgess said in his annual threat assessment on Wednesday.

Mike Burgess in dappled light
ASIO boss Mike Burgess says Australia knows more about a firebombing mastermind than he realises. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)

He was behind the targeting of Lewis Continental Kitchen in Bondi in October 2024, described by the spy boss as the “first major attack in the summer of anti-Semitism”.

“We know more about him than he realises, including the name of his superior in Iran and the department he works for.”

Mr Burgess confirmed a former Australian resident living in Iraq pulled the strings on the bombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne almost two years ago.

Iran recruited him through a complex web of Iraqi-based militia groups and valued his “high wealth and criminal connections”.

Damage inside the Adass Synagogue
An Australian in Iraq was behind a firebombing at Melbourne’s Adass Synagogue. (Yumi Rosenbaum/AAP PHOTOS)

After ASIO named and shamed Iran and Australian law enforcement applied pressure, the man was thrown into prison.

The two individuals can’t be named to protect ongoing investigations and related prosecutions.

“I do worry that one day an Australian will be killed at the hands of a foreign government here in Australia,” Mr Burgess said.

The ASIO head revealed an increasing number of people living in Australia were facing “coerced repatriation” where a foreign government applies pressure on someone to return to the country they are wanted in.

Lewis' Continental Kitchen
Lewis’ Continental Kitchen was the target of a firebombing directed by an Australian in Iran. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)

These victims almost always face punishment, persecution or prosecution and usually are critics of a foreign regime.

At least five regimes are targeting Australians with these tactics, with one country particularly active.

That country coerced at least eight individuals to leave Australia for the place of their birth in 2023.

Five were Australian citizens or permanent residents. Three never returned.

Mr Burgess said the AUKUS partnership, under which Australia is set to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, was also a priority target for foreign intelligence services.

Mike Burgess in front of stairs
Spies are seeking out Australian officials to garner information about AUKUS, Mike Burgess says. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)

This includes some nations Australia considers friendly.

A spy from a foreign intelligence service approached an Australian security clearance holder online and paid the official to write two reports on Australia’s relationship with its Pacific neighbours, before asking for insights on AUKUS.

“Using professional networking sites to recruit Australians is a low cost and low-risk vector for foreign intelligence services,” Mr Burgess said.

“They are also using less scaled but more sophisticated techniques to target AUKUS and its associated capabilities, and we expect it will only increase as the project matures and the attack surface expands.”

Since 2014, ASIO has foiled 31 major terrorism plots, working alongside law enforcement partners.

AAP